Flaming Star (1960)

Elvis Presley is Pacer, half-breed son of Sam Burton (John McIntire) and his Kiowa wife Neddy (Delores del Rio).

The family owns a small ranch and manages to co-exist with the other whites who live nearby, at least until Buffalo Horn becomes chief of the Kiowa and war breaks out.

Soon Pacer and his white brother Clint are being asked to choose sides. They try to maintain neutrality, but learn that only wins them enemies among the whites and the Indians.

The white folks at The Crossing want nothing to do with them; they even refuse to let the doctor leave town to help Neddy after she’s badly wounded.

As for Buffalo Horn, he promises the Burtons safety, but only if Pacer joins his braves on the warpath. He’s adamant that he won’t have a man who’s half-Kiowa stand against him.

Neddy’s death proves to be the turning point for the family. Blaming her passing on the doctor’s late arrival, Pacer finally splits with his white family to join the Kiowa.

Elvis Presley as Pacer, announcing that he’s decided to take the Kiowa side in the upcoming fight in Flaming Star (1960)

Steve Forrest as Clint Burton, caught in the middle of an Indian war because his father married a Kiowa woman in Flaming Star (1960)

Review:

The middle of three Westerns Elvis made during a career that included 31 films, this is unique because of the lack of singing.

Oh, he performs the title tune, but the only other song comes at a birthday party in the film’s opening scene. Heck, he doesn’t even have a girl in this film. The gal he wants (Barbara Eden as Rosyln Pierce) hopes to marry his brother.

That turned out to be a right approach for a film that’s fatalistic in tone. Early in the film, Pacer’s dad warns of what happens to people caught in the middle of a conflict. His words prove prophetic. Nor do director Don Siegel and company shy away from a downbeat ending.

The result is a film that will surprise fans familiar with Elvis’ more light-hearted material.

Oh, and none of it was meant to work out that way. The film was supposed to be a vehicle for Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, not Elvis Presley and Steve Forrest.

Even the female lead changed after shooting began. Dark-haired Englishwoman Barbara Steele was supposed to play the part that ultimately wound up in the hands of Eden, who would find her “I Dream of Jeannie” fame five years later.

Barbara Eden as Roslyn Pierce, the woman in love with Clint Burton in Flaming Star (1960)

Rodolfo Acosta as Buffalo Horn, questioning Pacer (Elvis Presley) about his allegiance to the Kiowa in Flaming Star (1960)

Directed by:
Don Siegel

Cast:
Elvis Presley … Pacer
Steve Forrest … Clint
Barbara Eden … Roslyn Pierce
Dolores del Rio … Neddy Burton
John McIntire … Pa Burton
Rodolfo Acosta … Buffalo Horn
Karl Swenson … Dred Pierce
Ford Rainey … Doc Phillips
Richard Jaeckel … Angus Pierce
Anne Benton … Dorothy Howard
L.Q. Jones … Tom Howard
Douglas Dick … Will Howard
Tom Reese … Jute
Marian Goldina .. Ph’sha Knay
Monte Burkhart … Ben Ford

Runtime: 95 min.

Title tune: “Flaming Star”
plus “A Cane and a High-Starched Collar”
both performed by Elvis Presley

John McIntire as Pa Burton, trying to defend his herd of cattle against Indians in Flaming Star (1960)

Dolores Del Rio as Neddy, fearing she’s to blame for the problems faced by her family in Flaming Star (1960)

Memorable lines:

Clint: “Pa, if trouble starts, who do you think will hit us first? Your folks or ma’s?”
Neddy Burton: “Shame on you, Clint. More likely, neither one will bother us.”
Pa Burton: “I must say that ain’t been my experience about people in the middle.”

Neddy Burton: “They wouldn’t hurt us, Pacer. They’re our own people.”
Pacer: “No, ma, they ain’t my people. To tell the truth, I don’t know who’s my people. Maybe I ain’t got any.”

Pacer to Roslyn: “You were the worst. You made me feel it the worst. When I was little, I liked you a lot. You were the only girl I liked a whole lot. But ever since you’ve been old enough to know you never looked at me once without saying somewhere in the back of your head, ‘He’s Kiowa. Clint’s alright, but watch out for Pacer.'”

Elvis Presley as Pacer, Anne Benton as Dorothy Howard and Richard Jaeckel as Angus Pierce at Clint’s birthday party in Flaming Star (1960)

Barbara Eden as Roslyn Pierce explains the shaving bowl and mirror she bought for Clint (Steve Forrest) as a birthday present in Flaming Star (1960)

Dolores Del Rio as Neddy with Elvis Presley as Pacer, discussing a lot rider she spotted near their ranch in Flaming Star (1960)

Richard Jaeckel as Angus, vowing vengeance for the massacre of the Howard family in Flaming Star (1960)

Ford Rainey as Doc Phillips, torn on whether he should rush to help a wounded Kiowa woman while Pacer (Elvis Presley) and Clint (Steve Forrest) look on in Flaming Star (1960)

Steve Forrest as Clint Burton, wounded during a scrape with Kiowa warriors in Flaming Star (1960)

John McIntire as Pa Burton, reacting to news that the Kiowa have a new chief in Flaming Star (1960)

Elvis Presley as Pacer Burton, wondering which side his family has the most to fear from in Flaming Star (1960)

Barbara Eden as Roslyn Pierce with her father Dred Pierce (Karl Swenson), a man biased against the Burtons in Flaming Star (1960)

Elvis Presley as Pacer using Doc Phillips’ daughter Dottie (Barbara Beaird) to coerce the doctor to treat his wounded mother in Flaming Star (1960)